Poll: Readers name ‘Same Deep Water as You’ best song off The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’

It’s a day some fans of The Cure feared might never come: The oft-delayed 3CD reissue of Disintegration — the 1989 album that’s considered both Robert Smith and Co.’s finest and one of the signpost albums in all of  ’80s college rock — finally is released today in North America.

To mark the occasion, we present Disintegration Week, four days’ worth of Cure-related lists based on the 380-plus entries we received in our recent giveaway of five Disintegration: Deluxe Edition prize packs (by the way, congrats to winners Jim, Laura, Ty, Rick and Steve).

We asked the contest’s entrants to each name their favorite Cure song, and while that makes for an admittedly unscientific poll, the results are worth sharing. Wednesday, we’ll use those results to rank the Top 10 Cure singles, on Thursday we’ll hit up the Top 10 B-sides and we’ll wrap it up Friday with the full list of Slicing Up Eyeballs’ readers 90-some favorite Cure songs.

First, though, we’ll kick things off by counting down our readers’ favorite tracks off Disintegration, since it was the only Cure album to receive votes for each of its songs. The results are below, along with some of the great commentary left by our readers; feel free to leave a comment at the end of this post weighing in with your own rankings.

DISINTEGRATION WEEK
TODAY: The Cure’s Disintegration tracks ranked
WEDNESDAY: Readers poll: The Cure’s Top 10 singles
THURSDAY: Readers poll: The Cure’s Top 10 B-sides
FRIDAY: Readers poll: The Cure’s Top 98 songs of all time

See the list of Cure fans’ favorite ‘Disintegration’ tracks after the jump…

Slicing Up Eyeballs readers rank The Cure’s Disintegration:

1. “The Same Deep Water as You”

Sample comment: “It’s a hauntingly beautiful track — the kind of song you can’t forget after you hear it for the first time. It transports me back to the summer of ‘89. In addition to having great lyrics, the 6 string bass part/melody is amazing.” (Dave Lossing)

2. “Disintegration”

Sample comment: “If only for the section that starts with, ‘So it’s all come back round to breaking apart again,’ and for the next minute and a half the song turns into this verbal and musical assault that just holds you under and never lets you come up for air. Incredible.” (David)

3. “Plainsong”

Sample comment: “When it begins, those first notes, it’s like a portal that takes me to another dimension. Whenever and wherever I hear it, I still feel like the first time I heard it… I still remember that day, the day I fell in love with music.” (J. Lehnemann)

4. “Pictures of You”

Sample comment: “I’m a single father, and during the last few months of my year-long deployment to Iraq in 2004, I missed my two daughters immensely. So much that I had removed their pictures from around my bunk because it was too difficult falling asleep. Even though I had removed the pictures, memory clips played in my head as a laid to rest and ‘Pictures of You’ helped me fall asleep.” (Bryan)

5. “Fascination Street”

Sample comment: “Great bass line, and the way the 2 guitars interact blows me away. Also, gotta love the guitar effects used, who does that better than Porl and Robert? Vocals … awesome, with catchy x-rated lyrics: ‘But if you open your mouth then I can’t be responsible/For quite what goes in or to care what comes out.'” (RJS)

6. “Lullaby”

Sample comment: “The first time I heard this song was in high school and it was mesmerizing. The sound of his whispering voice and orchestral dark sounds was nothing I’ve never heard before. After all these years, ‘Lullaby’ still has its magic whether I hear it live or on vinyl.” (Stephanie)

7. “Untitled”

Sample comment: “It sums up how I felt a number of years ago when I was with the only woman I have ever loved, but I let it fall apart.” (Tim)

8. “Homesick”

Sample comment: “The combination of bass and piano is so beautiful! The intro and outro are simply amazing! Also, when Robert sings, Roger adds some notes, while Simon is using the whole neck of his bass… Simply amazing!” (Samuel)

9. “Prayers for Rain”

Sample comment: “It captures the album perfectly I think, dark and epic, building more and more tension each riff. When the whole band kicks in near the start and that keyboard riff begins, I feel a chill down my spine. No chorus; just builds more tension after each verse and never lets down. Some of Robert’s best lyrics, I think.” (Jeremy S.)

10. “Closedown”

Sample comment: “Whenever I listen to it, it makes me feel all strange, in a good way. It’ll always remind me of this summer years ago.” (CatsAndClouds)

11. “Lovesong”

Sample comment: “It really has a lot of emotion, the guitars sounds are really great. It’s just a song I never get sick of.” (David Kelber)

12. “Last Dance”

Sample comment: “My favorite Cure song is ‘Last Dance.’ Thanks.” (Ariel)
[…yes, that was the only vote for “Last Dance”]

PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS

• Download: The Cure plays ‘Disintegration’ live at the Dallas Starplex in 1989
• Review: The Cure’s ‘Disintegration: Deluxe Edition’ expanded 3CD reissue
• Contest: Win The Cure’s 3CD ‘Disintegration: Deluxe Edition’ prize pack
• The Cure launches ‘Disintegration’ website, streams 20 unreleased tracks
• Pre-order The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’ reissue from Rhino, receive ‘3×3×3′ promo
• The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’ reissue delayed yet again; 3CD set now due out June 8
• Audio: The Cure’s ‘Delirious Night,’ previously unreleased ‘Disintegration’-era demo
• The Cure’s ‘Disintegration’ gets 3CD deluxe reissue in 2010, plus ‘In Orange’ on DVD